Harper and Co. butches up military

For me, this American style chest thumping is embarrassing.

The federal government paid tribute to its role in the Libya campaign Thursday with a flashy display of military might on Parliament Hill, a ceremony that some observers viewed as a way of declaring Canada's more muscular role on the global stage.

The celebratory event, which was attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Defence Minister Peter MacKay as well as a host of military officials, included a flypast by CF-18 fighter jets, a 21-gun salute and the awarding of a Meritorious Service Cross (Military Division) to Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, the Canadian air force general who commanded the NATO mission in Libya.

Some saw it as a conventional victory parade. "It is a celebration of sorts, there's no question, but it's within military tradition," said Michel Drapeau, a professor of military law at the University of Ottawa, who pointed to similar victory parades held in Canada for V-Day and the Korean War.

But others remarked on how out-of-character the ceremony seemed for a country that for decades has tended to play down its military. Stephen Clarkson, a University of Toronto professor with an expertise in Canadian foreign policy, views the ceremony as an exercise in "self-glorification."

Either way, the spectacle left little doubt that Harper is putting increased emphasis on the role of Canada's military in international affairs.

Read more here.